KARACHI, Sept 21: Intelligence agencies were on Sunday questioning 13 Malaysian and two Indonesian students suspected of links to the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), which is alleged to have links to Al Qaeda, an intelligence official said.

The 15 students were arrested on Saturday at the request of their respective countries in raids on three religious schools and some hostels, the official said.

“There is a possibility that some of them have links with Jemaah Islamiyah,” he told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The interior ministry’s National Crisis Management Cell director, Brig Javed Cheema, said the students were involved “in undesirable activities prejudicial to the interest of Pakistan,” and would all be deported.

The 15 were picked up from the Abu Bakr, Ashraful Madaris and Darul Islam madressahs and private hostels in Gulshan-i-Iqbal and taken to a secret location for interrogation by intelligence agents, the intelligence official said. US Federal Bureau of Intelligence agents may be invited to join the questioning.

None of the detainees admitted to links with extremist groups, the intelligence officer said.

“They only admitted they had overstayed their visas, but said they were just devoted Muslims and students,” he said. — AFP